Potencial antiemético do Zingiber officinale em pacientes oncológicos em tratamento com antineoplásicos: revisão integrativa

Abstract

Cancer is currently the second leading cause of death in the world, with chemotherapy being one of the most used treatments. Antineoplastic drugs are associated by acting in a systemic manner with the aim of reducing / eliminating the tumor, however, its adverse effects, such as nausea and vomiting, greatly weaken the patient's health, impair food intake and increase nutritional risk. Ginger is a spice that has antiemetic potential, and can help control this symptom. This integrative literature review aims to analyze whether there is a relationship between the use of ginger in suppressing side effects of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). This is a study carried out in the MEDLINE database, whose key words were “cancer”, “antiemetic” and “ginger”. Among the 6 articles that made up the analysis, 4 showed favorable results in relation to the use of ginger, with an improvement in CINV, and in 2, ginger was not effective. Many clinical studies have proven the effectiveness of traditional medicine products in reducing CINV, although the mechanism of action of ginger is still unknown. Studies to define the effective and ideal concentration, and to validate its use, should be proposed, so that the plant can be inserted as a permanent part of drug regimens, as it shows itself allied to them, in order to bring more quality of life to patients and explore new therapeutic paths.